This study examines rituals of outspokenness, by analysing cases drawn from the US hidden camera show, Primetime: What Would You Do? Studying ritualistic behaviour in cases when bystanders become side participants as they stand up for victims of abuse fills a knowledge gap in pragmatics. A further merit of studying this phenomenon is that it provides insight into the reactive aspect of ritual behaviour, which is usually described in the field as a form of action rather than reaction. Furthermore, examining the morally loaded acts of rituals of outspokenness reveals the potentially complex relationship between aggression and normative behaviour.

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Mey, Jacob L

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Pan, Yuling

2013Interactional Sociolinguistics as a Research Perspective. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. London: Blackwell. doi: 10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0552

Rampton, Ben

2009 “Interaction Ritual and not Just Artful Performance in Crossing and Stylization.” Language in Society38 (2): 149–176. doi: 10.1017/S0047404509090319

Sommer, Kristin , and Juran Yoon

2013 “When Silence is Golden: Ostracism as a Resource Conservation during Aversive Interactions.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships30 (7): 901–919. doi: 10.1177/0265407512473006